Recreational Observation

We toured from Paradise up to Alta Vista and took a run down into Edith Creek Valley where we spent most of our day.

Dec. 19, 2015, 6 p.m. PST

Weather: We observed decreasing clouds throughout the day that started as obscured and decreased to Broken. We observed light winds that appeared to shift slightly from Southwest to South.

Snowpack: We observed light to moderate amounts of previous wind transport on exposed east slopes in the Near Tree Line zone. The snow pack features 8cm of new snow (F)on top of a 5cm thick Rain crust (K-). Below this rain crust the snow pack consists of generally progressively more resistant layers comprised mostly of rounds and decomposing fragments with the exception of two crusts (both P) 25cm and 31cm down. Below the second crust is rounds trending from 1F to P- on top of the Dec 8 Rain crust which sits 121cm down is beginning to break down. We preformed several snow pit tests CTM @ 15cm x3 Q2 (PC) on the bottom side of the IFcr, 2x CTH Q3 @65cm on an storm snow interface, and ECTN14.

Area Description: Alta Vista East Face above Edith Creek Valley.

Avalanches: We observed D2 and D1.5 Soft Slabs that were likely triggered Naturally late Thursday or early Friday. The larger of the two was near the head of Mazama Ridge just West of Slusikin Falls. The smaller Soft Slab was observed near Alta Vista and was likely D1.5. We observed several smaller older D1 avalanches along the eastern side of Alta Visa.